Small Business Laws Run Smack Dab Into eBay Entrepreneurialism
from the wham dept
This isn't the first time where eBay sellers have run into problems with various small business laws -- but it does help to demonstrate how certain legal concepts haven't been updated quickly enough for an online world. Ohio has passed a law that would make it nearly impossible for the average person to sell on eBay. The law requires anyone selling a product in an online auction to have a legitimate auctioneer's license -- which costs quite a bit, and can only be received after completing a one-year apprenticeship. The author of the law is now saying that, thanks to the outcry, it will be modified to allow for individual sellers -- but it's not entirely clear what will let you qualify to be exempt from the law, and which "power sellers" will suddenly be out of business. What's not clear at all from the article is the rationale for this law. It seems to ignore the fact that there are plenty of people out there who have made careers out of selling stuff on eBay.
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Our politicians are "working" again, instead of raising money. We simply must reduce the amount a candidate can accept from any one person or organization to $1 to keep them busy raising money instead of passing laws.
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ebay and auctioneer
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